Tag: Games

Senran Kagura: Peach Beach Splash is a third person action shooter developed by Tamsoft (through Honey Parade Games) and published by Marvelous and XSEED Games. It is a PS4 exclusive and the second Senran Kagura game on that system. It follows the events in last years Senran Kagura: Estival Versus but is more of a spin-off than part of the Versus series. It is rated M for Mature.

The not-so-mysterious Miss R and Mister K

Peach Beach Splash finds the girls of the Senran Kagura series transported to a mysterious island. There, they are greeted by two familiar-looking hosts, Ms R and Mister K (Hebijo/Crimson Squad master Rin and Hanzo instructor Kiriya in disguise). They tell the girls they are to participate in an ancient Shinobi tradition: a water gun tournament called Peach Beach Splash, or PBS. The winners will receive whatever they wish for. All four groups agree to participate to find out the real purpose of PBS, and why Rin and Kiriya are wearing those ridiculous outfits.

Ninja girls having water fights in bathing suits? Why not?

The roster for the game is robust. It includes all the girls from the four schools (Hanzo, Gessen, Hebijo, and Homura’s Crimson Squad. Ayame, the shop girl playable as DLC in the last game, also joins the Hanzo Squad. Rin can be unlocked as well as Daidoji, along with the Mikagura sisters, Ryoki, and Jasmine from Estival Versus. Former DLC characters Naraku and Kagura are also unlockable in the main game. Also include right off the bat are characters from the Japan-only mobile phone game, Senran Kagura :New Wave: Souji, Leo and Yuyaki.

Yuyaki from New Wave G Burst.

Enemies come in various forms.

The gameplay is pretty straight forward. You control a character a group of up to six girls and battle groups of grunts, robots and other teams using water guns. The water guns come in a variety of styles, such as pistols, shotguns, assault rifles, gatling guns,water bazookas, water grenade launchers and shower heads. Each weapon has its strength and drawbacks, like range, strength, clip size and reload times.

You equip these cards for special attacks or bonuses. Some of the artwork is…intersting.

Unlike the Versus series and the 3DS Senran Kagura games, there is no shinobi transformation or magic. Instead, you get special abilities from cards you collect by winning battles. You equip the cards in your character and activate them in battle using the D-Pad These cards can affect your character’s stats, such as health, accuracy and clip size. They can also activate a special attack, like flames, lightning or poison that will affect you enemy. Other cards that can be earned are weapons. Each Faction has their own effect cards with their girls on them. Sometimes you will get higher ranking cards, depending on how well you did, the level you played or the difficulty. You only need one type of each card however and you will get a lot of doubles.

The doubles have a purpose, however. You can trade them in for points to level up you cards, weapons of you characters. Each card gives you a certain amount of experience points, depending on the rarity of the card (From Common to Ultra Rare). You can use the points to upgrade your favourite girl to give her an edge in battle.

Humiliate and disrobe opponents in Splash Mode

As you beat the other girls in the game, you get an opportunity to initiate the Splash Mode. Using a rubber duck squirt gun you target the fallen girl’s head chest or butt to humiliate them. Score enough before the time runs out and her top or bottom will pop off. Of course, lights protect their modesty. Note that, no matter the outfit the character was wearing, they revert to the default white bikini for this mode.

The strategic lighst keeps things rated M

The single player mode have three options. You have the main story, Single Splash, which follows the PBS storyline: Paradise Episodes, which you unlock through playing the main game, featuring one or multiple characters in a five level arc; and the V-Road Challenge, which you battle different teams to win the tournament. There is multiplayer, which has Co-Op survival, , Ranked matches for the online ranking system and free matches in which the host can set the rules.

Each group has their own story.

Like the other Senran Kagura games, you have a shop and a dressing rooms to explore. The Shop have various hairstyles, outfits and card packs, amongst other things, for you to buy. New items are unlocked by playing through the various modes of the game. The Dressing room is where you can customize the girls’ outfits. All the default costumes are white, two piece swim suits but you can change it to their individual swimsuits from Estival Versus. You can also dress them in their school uniforms and shinobi outfits along with outfits that you buy. These outfits get shredded as you take damage in the game, like in the regular games. There are also outfits that become transparent as you get them wet. The default one is a t-shirt over a bikini and other one can be bought at the store. There are also accessories as in the other games to be used or bought. No balloons, though that may be DLC.

Have fun in Diorama mode!

Of course, the popular Diorama mode comes back, with various settings and poses available to create your perfect scene. Outfits can be set to be ripped or wet, depending on the outfit. You can also adjust the characters head position and even their size. The pervy mode is back too, now in a separate section called Intimate Mode. You can look at, rotate and zoom in on your chosen girl. You can also grab them, poke them and do really…unacceptable-in-polite-society things to them, which, for some reason, increases their Like meter and enables you to go in for a kiss. You can also get a good look at the wet cloth physics by spraying the girls with water to get wet drenched. You can even change the colour of the water by buying different duck guns in the store. I didn’t see a yellow colour, thank God…

Those wandering hands are back. Again THIS IS NOT HOW TO GO ABOUT MAKING GIRLS LIKE YOU IN REAL LIFE!!!!

Get her wet…with water! Get you mind out of the gutter!

Some outfits become transparent when wet.

There is actually a story in all of this, but it is not as deep as Estival Versus. During the story for each faction, the girls deal with a conflict with in the group such as Ikaruga realizing graduation will mean leaving her friends and Murasaki getting jealous when her sister, Imu, pays more attention to Miyabi. The story is fine, but not deep enough to balance out Katsuragi’s groping obsession and Ryona and Ryobi’s…interesting family dynamic. But, it is what you would expect from a Senran Kagura game.

The last Hejibo mission has you fight a giant Ryona, echoing the battle in the Estical Versus OVA.

The thing you expect is fan service and PBS has that in spades. In fact, the game is built around the wet cloths physics that was created for Estival Versus. The outfits combined with either the ripping or the see-thru when wet mechanics is definitely front and center. I will state that I like this series because it is a little naughty. My complaint that I have with the other Senran Kagura games still stands with this one: some of the girls look too young. Mirai is the one I most have a problem with, though her default bathing suit is modest. But, with the Splash mode, she is on a two piece like the other girls. At least the girls are not hacking each other and fighting with swords, knifes and guns. Well, they do use water guns , but at leat they aren’t trying to kill each other.

Packs like these will contain a least on rare card

There is a lot of DLC coming out for this game. This comes in the form of new outfits, weapons, accessories and cards. In fact, the FIrst Week DLC bundle cost over $73 Canadian. The DLC most are interested in though, are the guest characters. In Japan, they got Ayane, Honoka and Marie Rose from Dead or Alive Xtreme 3, Ikki Tousen, with Sonsaku, Kan’u, Ryofu and, my favourite, Ryomu, and Super Sonico, the busty, pink-haired girl from the anime, Super Sonico and the game Communication With Sonico. No North American Release datehas been confirmed, but if the Ikki Tousen girls come over, they will probably have their Chinese names. Super Sonico may have an issue depending on the publishing rights Nitro+ has with JAST USA.

Ayame joins the main cast for Hanzo.

Overall, this is a fun game. It is nice to see a new game in the series come out so soon after the last one and even better that the localization was fast enough to have a worldwide release within six month of the Japanese release. With a remake of Senran Kagura Burst coming for the PS4 in 2018, Peach Beach Splash will tide us over until the eventual English release. It is good to see the series thriving after six years. It might be a few more years until the next chapter in theses girls’ story, but it will be interesting to see what direction they will take.

The physical copy of Fate/EXTELLA comes in a special edition called the Noble Phantasm Edition. Lets take a look at what you get in this set.

The special edition comes in a sturdy box. The North American version from XSEED Games doesn’t have a fancy box like the European version (called the Moon Crux edition) but the content is the same.

Inside we get this cloth poster featuring Tamamo (left) fighting Nero (right). The art looks nice and it is very colourful.

You also get 16 art cards featuring the characters in the game. The cards are of a sturdy plastic.

Finally you get an art book/source book for Fate/EXTELLA. Featuring character designs, concept art and a glossary of terms, this will help you learn more about the Fate/EXTELLA universe. It is a pretty good read. and is in English.

Of course you get the game, reviewed in my last post. The PS Vita and the PS4 version of the Noble Phantasm edition are the same beside the version of the game you get. Costing $79.99 for the PS Vita or $89.99 for PS4 (all prices Canadian), it is not that much more than just the game. I think the book makes this set worth it. The game is available physically without the set as well.

Fate/Extella: The Umbral Star is a third person hack-and-slash action game developed by Marvelous and published in North America by XSeed Games. It is a spin-off of the popular Fate multimedia franchise by Type Moon that started with the Visual Novel Fate/stay night(originally an eroge that was toned down for a general audience) that spun off into anime, manga and video games. Fate/Extella is an indirect sequel to the spin-off game Fate/Codes (still available on PSN as of this writing.) and Fate/Codes CCC (Japan only). This game is available for the PS Vita and the PS4 with cross save and cross download features. It is playable on the PlayStation TV micro console.

Start Screen on PS4

The Fate franchises has an underlying theme to all of its versions: The is a mystical artifact called the Holy Grail (what it is can vary) and a war is fought over it. The Grail chooses several people to become Masters. Masters usually have some sort of magical aptitude, but their level can vary from person to person. All of them, however. are able to summon a Servant. A servant is a Heroic Spirit that become a legend in the past, present or even future. They come from history, legends, myths or even from times not yet past. These Heroic Spirits are not necessary good, but they have all made their mark on history in some way. But the ultimate goal is to defeat all of the others and win the Holy Grail, which will grant them what they desire most.

Servants are broken down into several classes. There are Sabers (sword wielders), Casters (magic users), Riders (fast moving, sometimes with a mount), Archers (projectiles, not necessarily arrows), Berserkers (great strength and endurance), Lancers (lances and pole arms), and Rulers (able to command other Servants)

Fate/EXTELLA varies a bit from the core Fate storyline. For one, it takes place not in our world, but in a virtual reality. The Holy Grail is the Moon Cell Automaton, an ancient computer build by non-human hands and hidden on the Moon. It generates a virtual world called SE.RA.PH. Masters, called wizards, project their consciousness into this world and they bond with their Servants, who the Moon Cell Automaton pulls from the Earth’s history.

Nero Cladius is one of the Heroic Spirits in Fate/EXTELLAMedusa is another servant that exists in SE.RA.PH

The second difference is that the Holy Grail War is already won. Set after the events of Fate/Codes, EXTELLA sees the player takes the role of the Master who had won the Grail War and now rules over the virtual world of SE.RA.PH alongside the Servant, Nero Claudius. A Saber class servant, Nero is very loyal to the protagonist. She (yes, she) gathered four other Servants (now existing independently in SE.RA.PH.) to help rule the new lands. She has a ring, the Regalia that symbolizes her dominion over SE.RA.PH. But things are not as simple as it seems. Another servant appears with her own Regalia. A Caster, Tamamo no Mae has claimed that she won the Holy Grail War along side her master, who appears to be the player character as well.

Both Nero and Tamamo (the fox girl) claim to have won the Holy Grail War.

A servant sent as a System Administrator, Archimedes explains that the player character was attacked in the real world by servants of Velber, the Umbral Star, a sentient planet that destroys every civilization it encounters. It has returned to Earth after 14 000 years to lay waste to the planet and its Moon. It split the player’s avatar into three parts, Body, Mind and Spirit. Nero has Mind, Tamamo has spirit, and the body is in the hands of Velber’s servant, Altera. The player has to help the servants reunite the three parts and hopefully stop the Umbral Star from destroying the virtual and the real world.

Archimedes (standing in front) seems to have all the answers…

The main story is split into three parts, one for Nero, Tamamo, and Altera. Each part has you fight in battles as you try to win by taking over sections of the battlefield and defeating the enemies within. Each time to takeover a sector, you gain keys called Regime Matrices. Collect 15 keys and you take over the area. Lose 15 and the enemy takes over instead and you lose. One you have 15, the Boss servant appears and you have to beat them to complete the level. this is similar to the gameplay of Koei Tecmo games such as Dynasty Warriors.

Tamamo has her own copy ofr the winning Master.

You create the Master of the game, but the customization is limited. You can create the name and choose their sex, but that is all you can customize. Other than you name and what sex you choose, the game plays the same with your servant expressing their admiration and love for you no matter your sex. You are skill referred to as King or Master or Husband, depending on the character, though sometimes the female player character is referred to as Lady.

Male or female, Tamamo is a loving wife to her Master

Each of the servant characters have the standard light and heavy attacks (Square and Triangle, respectively) that can be chained for combos. As the character levels up you gain the ability to do longer combos as they are unlocked. The Circle button activates the Extella Maneuver; as the little blue bars beneath your health fill up, you are able to launch an attack that hits all the opponents around you. The more bars you have build up, the longer you can string the attacks.. Finally, X is jump.

End result of a Extella Maneuver

There are also two special attacks. First is the Moon Crux (L2 on PS4, L and X on the Vita)for the three main heroines in with they temporarily transform into a more powerful version of themselves and gains special effects like flames or ice with their attacks. The other servants don’t transform, but become more powerful until the bar above their health empties. The other special attack is the characters’ Noble Phantom. Throughout each level, there are Red crystals with a circuit part that fills a graphic next to the character’s health. Once you get three of them and complete the circuit, you can press R2 (or the circuit symbol with the Vita’s touch screen) to activate the attack. Each characters attack is different and they tie into that character’s legend or backstory.

Nero transformed during the Moon CruxNero begins her Noble Phantasm

Besides the main story, you have two other modes. The side quest allows you to play as any of the other servants you have unlocked in story mode. There is also a Free Mode, in which you can replay any of the missions you have beat with any character that you have unlocked. Missions may even have side missions give by other servants that will increase you affinity with them. There is also a gallery, which you can watch any of the cut scenes you unlocked, look at character models or read up on terms in the Fate Extella setting.

Each servant besides the main three have a side story.

There are alternate costumes available as paid DLC for the game, with more coming in the weeks to come. You can change the costume between missions and the character’s looks will reflect the costume in most cut scenes. Even the character art in the dialogue will reflect the costume you are wearing, which is a nice touch.

First Week DLC features swimsuits for the girls and two of the guys.

Even the art reflects the costume (Shackled Bride outfit shown)

This is a pretty fun game. Fans of Dynasty/Samurai/Hyrule Warriors will enjoy the same hack and slash gameplay in this title. The three storylines and the ability to replay levels adds some value to the game. The characters are all interesting, once you get over some of the interesting changes to some historical figures. Nero being a woman is not that surprising; in the original Fate anime, the Sabrer in that series, Artoria (who is a hidden character in this game), was the legendary King Arthur. Iskandar, the King of Conquerors, is large and imposing, but historically, Alexander the Great (who is based on) wasn’t that tall though his exploites were larger than like. The most interesting interpretation was Elizabeth Bathory. A Hungarian countess distantly related to the (historical) Vlad Dracula , she was accused of murdering young girls to bath in their blood to remain young. In the Fate world, she returns looking like a teenage girl with dragon wings and tails and a desire to become a pop idol.

Saber from Fate/stay night (Artoria Pendragon) is a hidden character in Fate/EXTELLA

Elizabeth Bathory bathed in blood to stay young. Bet she didn’t want to look this young!

Both the PS 4 and the PS Vita versions play the same. Of course, the Vita version cannot show as may enemies on screen as the PS 4. In fact I find the Vita version a bit easier because of that. Both versions have an option to upload your same so you can transfer it to the other system. Gameplay on the PlayStation TV version lets you use the controller like in the PS4 version. All of the DLC the is or will be available for this game will get you both the Vita and PS4 version

The PS4 version can have more enemies on screenArtoria in her swinsuit

Fate/EXTELLA: the Umbral Star is available now both in a physical release or digitally on the PSN. The Digital version will give you a theme for the system you bought it for and either the Shackle Bride outfit for Nero (PS4) or the Cold Blooded Warden outfit for Gilgamesh (PS Vita). Both the physical version comes in the Noble Phantasm edition, which I will review separately.

Valkyrie Drive: Bhikkhuni is a third person action game developed by Meteorise and published by Marvelous Inc. through PQube. It is part of the Valkyrie Drive media franchise created by Marvelous Inc, (Senran Kagura series), which includes this game, an anime and an iOS game exclusive to Japan. This game is exclusive to the PS Vita system. The game is PlayStation TV Compatible.

Sisters Rinka and Ranka arrive on the island

The overall plot of the Valkyrie Drive series is this: Sometime in the near future, a virus starts to infect teenage girls and young women. The virus is called the Armed Virus and can affect a girl in two ways: Some gain the ability to turn in weapons and some gain the ability to wield those weapons, if the girls are compatible enough. The ones that turn into weapons are called Extars and the one who can wield them are Liberators. Some Extars don’t turn into weapons: some turn into a vehicle or some just grown giant (as seen in the anime.) Some even have both the abilities of an Extar and a Liberator. The governments of the world have decided to remove these girls and put them on artificial islands where they can learn to control their powers or be cured from the virus.

Extars have one thing in common, though. In order to transform, they must be compatible with their Liberator in order to initiate the transformation. To initiate the transformation, the Liberator has to bring their Extar to a state of “euphoria.” If you’ve read my review of Gal *Gun: Double Peace, you know that’s code for giving them an orgasm. Yes, an orgasm. The higher compatibility between the girls, the easier the transformation and the more powerful the Extar gets. In the anime, it is shown that some girls effortlessly shift between human and Extar form if they have the right partner. It even showed that an Extar could involuntarily turn into a weapon if the sight of an attractive Liberator turns them on. But that is enough of the back story.

Their Love is a Weapon

Valkyrie Drive: Bhikkhuni is set on the artificial island of Bhikkhuni (hence the title). It mainly follows two sisters, Rinka and Ranka, who have been sent there in order to be cured from their virus. Everyone on that island have a variation of the Armed Virus called the V Virus, which makes them both Extar and Liberator. Here they are put though various combat exercises in order to refine their powers as they are told the way to cure the virus is to master it. The sisters encounter others on the island like the mysterious Momo, the ambitious Mana, arrogant Viola, always hungry Manpukumaru and the serious Koharu. They all progress under the watchful eyes of the Four Pillar Gods, massive mechanical Valkyries that serve as teachers and opponents. Of course the girls pair up and strengthen the bond with their partners through touching groping and kissing. Yes, even the sisters because, Japan.

The Four Pillar Gods

The game play is similar to what was in the Senran Kagura games for the Vita. You go through the map, fighting off hordes of mostly female enemies, with the occasional robot dog, scorpion or some other mechanical contraption. You attack with the square button for light and triangle for heavy attacks. Circle launches the enemy into the air and X is jump for light presses or a dash towards locked on enemies if you hold it. You can explore the maps to find hidden items and areas (guarded by a robot keeper that recognizes the girls by touching their breasts), and to collect pieces of lingerie tokens, which unlocks underwear if you collect all the pieces in the level. Like Senran Kagura, there is clothing damage that stays through the end level cut scenes. Usually at the end, you face off against another pairs of girls. After each level, you are given a score, a ranking and experience points to split between the Liberator and the Exter.

Clothing damage stays through the end battle cut scenes

While leveling up the Liberator improves their speed, endurance and power, leveling the Exter improves the weapon’s power and unlocks the Valkyrie Drive. You build up you drive meter as you fight and defeat enemies, with combos yielding more power. Once the meter is full, you can initiate the Drive. There are four levels of the driver. First Drive is when the Exter turns into a weapon. Unlike the anime where the girl has to orgasm to turn into a weapon, in the game the girls just touch hands and one turns into the weapon. In fact, at the lower level, you don’t even start off in First Drive (even though you have a weapon), but you do as you get the Exter higher in the levels. You can activate the Drive 3 more times if you unlock the abilities for your Exter. Each stage of Drive is accompanied by a scene depicting you two characters: Second Drive has the Liberator touch the other girl’s breast; Third Drive the Liberator hugs the Exter from behind and nuzzles her neck; and Final Drive, the girls kiss (yes, even the sisters). In Second and Third Drive, the Exter loses a piece of clothing until by the final Drive, they are in their underwear. In the Final Drive, the underwear goes, replace by shining light to cover them up (like in Senran Kagura Estival Versus) and the girls launches into the air in ecstasy. You can also use the meter to do special attacks by holding L and pressing square.

First DriveSecond Drive. Yes they are sisters…and very close.Third DriveFinal Drive begins with a Kiss, then her panties come off and she blasts into space!

The game has other modes as well. There is a hub you can go to change costumes, buy outfits and items at the store (including Lingerie) or look at unlocked art and scenes. You can also talk to the other girls here. Occasionally there will be hearts that you can collect for each girl which improves their affection level. Occasionally this will unlock a text and voice scene where the girls interact with each other. These could be about the girls challenging each other while training, day dreaming about an opponent’s boobs or directly asking Viola if the carpet matches the drapes, if you get what I’m saying. If you max out the affection level, you unlock a picture of the girls together. It doesn’t have much to do with the story, but is just fan service I guess.

Momo is getting a little too friendly with Viola.

Like Senran Kagura, you can customize the look of the girls. You can either buy items from the shop, unlock items buy playing the main game, or by buying DLC. Each girl only have one outfit, but you can swap them for a different colour version of the main one for any that you have unlock or bought. You can also add accessories like Senran Kagura and adjust their position on their bodies to create unique looks. There is even a DLC pack that includes many of the items available for Senran Kagura. If you’ve played Estival Versus and checked out the Miss Shinobi Contest, you know the things that can be done. As in Senran Kagura, you can interact with the girls in the dressing room in what is called communication mode. You can press the Square and X buttons to cause battle damage to their outfits or you can play the touching mini-game as you build up levels by touching various areas of her body, with the girl all the while calling you a pervert (as if you didn’t feel that way already.) There are 7 ranks broken down into various levels, from “Girl”, the lowest, to Valkyrie, the highest. Reaching level 20 (Lady) unlocks the heart catch mini-game, in which you tap on screen hearts as they fill up and before they disappear as the girl you’ve been…tapping is shown in the background in her underwear, quipping lines like “Oooh,” Ahhh,” and “That was the best massage ever!” Doing this unlocks various pictures, lingerie and outfits for that character. Other modes in the game include a survival mode and a challenge mode.

You can swap outfits.

As mentioned, there is tons of DLC out for this game, including the swimsuit DLC included in Japanese special editions. There is also DLC with adds Liberator Mirei and her Exter Mamori from the anime. Valkyrie Drive: Mermaid. These two characters can only be used together, much like in the anime. They do not show up in the main story mode, but can be used to replay beaten levels

Mirei is a special DLC character from the anime.

Graphically, the game is on par with Senran Kagura: Shinovi Versus, meaning they are fine, but not as smooth as the later Senran Kagura game. The areas in game are fairly large and the load time between areas is not that long. The game does look good on a larger TV through a PlayStation TV and most of the touch controls can be done through the face buttons.

Mana (L) and Momo

Now content-wise, this game is a little more risqué than the Senran Kagura games. By risqué, I mean that the lesbian or yuri (as it is called in Japan) elements of the girls touching and kissing. While the Senran Kagura series has girls touching girls and there is some blatantly obvious attraction between some of the girls, it is not central to the plot. In Valkyrie Drive it is right there in the middle of all of it. But the game is not as explicit as the anime series. Watch an episode and you’ll be surprised that his was on a cable network (ATX, an anime cable channel) and not some OVA sold behind a counter. It is like an anime Game of Thrones, but with less violence, even less plot and much more lesbians. The game handles the transformation mechanics differently than the anime, but it have some risky elements with the two sisters being partners and all. Whether that’s so hot or super creepy is up to the player. Either way, XSeed (Marvelous Inc’s western arm) decided not to port this game so PQube had to step in. They also aged up the girls, having the virus affect young women (meaning over 18) to appeal to Western sensitivity. None of the girls look too jail-baity, unlike in Senran Kagura. Besides that, there are no other instances of censorship.

Sisters give each other massages all the time, right?

Another difference is that no matter who your Exter is, you still use the same weapon. In the game, each Exter changes into a certain weapon. Ranka turns into Rinka’s sword and Rinka becomes Ranka’s hell gauntlets. But if you have Ranka as Mana’s Exter, she is her bow. I understand it is to make the game less complicated, but I would have been nice if who you choose as your partner determined what weapon you get. It could even be a challenging game mechanic to force you to use a weapon you are not used to. But it was all about the girl on girl action, right?

Manpukumaru is always hungry

All in all, Valkyrie Drive is a good game that could have been better. It relies on the whole “weaponized lesbians” angle to pull in players but the story can be weak in places and the battles slightly repetitive. Not having who you choose as your Exter change your weapon is a loss for me, as I was hoping that was the case when I got it. I’m sure it was just to simplify the programming, but it was a wasted opportunity. I wonder if developer Meteorize just borrowed the SK engine to make the game since it looks so similar. Maybe if Tamsoft was involved, we would have gotten Estival Versus level graphics and unique weapons forms for each Exter, no matter who the Liberator is.

Valkyrie Drive: Bhikkhuni is out now. Physical copies can be bought online through Video Games Plus or Rice Digital. Rice Digital had the deluxe edition with an art book, which may or may not be still available. The game can also be bought through PSN.

Criminal Girls 2:Party Favors is a Japanese Role Playing Game developed by Nippon Ichi Software and published by NIS America it is a sequel to Criminal Girls: Invite Only, also for the PS Vita (and reviewed here)It was released physically on 20 September, 16 and on PSN on 11 October, 2016 in North America. The game is PlayStation TV compatible.

Meet your new charges

As in the first game, you are a Reformation Instructor in Hell. Your job is to guide the souls of delinquents, girls who have yet to commit a crime punishable by damnation, but are close enough to need guidance to reform. Unfortunately you have lost your memory and suddenly fin yourself with seven delinquents to guide through hell. Each are headstrong and resistant in their own way but you have to get them to work together to ascend the Spire. The only issue is, you find out there should only be six girls…

Criminal Girls 2 plays exactly like the previous game, with you moving your 2d characters through the mazes of hell. Monster encounters random, except for boss fights and when it is needed to move the story along. The story is told though Japanese voice acting with English subtitles with 2D images of the characters with limited animation. You explore the levels, only saving at camps at various locations.

Yurine is ditzy, but she seems to mean well.

The girls that you guide pretty much follow the typical anime tropes as the first game. You have the regular sized girls (Shinoa and Lily), the well endowed women (Yurine and Tsukyasa) and the uncomfortably jailbait-like ones (Kuroe, Mizuki and Sui). Of course the girls are old enough to no get NIS in trouble. Each character has their own personality as well. Shinoa is caring and trusting; Lilly comes off as a rich snob but does have a soft spot; Yurine is a bit ditzy but wants to help, Sui is sarcastic and analytical, Tsukasa is a bit of a tease, Kuroe is shy and talks through her donkey doll, Baron; and, Mizuki who is a clumsy girl who’s child-like nature makes motivating her creepy.

Mizuki skews young, doesn’t she…?

Combat is turned base and when you go into a encounter, the screen changes and you see four of your girls , two on either side of the screen and the monster(s) in the middle. As the Instructor, you do not attack, you only choose which character to take battle advice. That action will be take that round then the monsters go (if they didn’t attack first. Some action have two characters attack at once. You can also heal your girls with items or switch a girl out for another character. These actions do not count towards the turn. You can also use skill as spells that the character has learned. After the battle, the characters get experience to level up their hit points and CM points with can go towards items in the shop or to towards the motivation mini games.

Yes , the Motivation system is back. In order to get the girls to fight, you must motivate them with various punishments. There are five Motivational mini-games: Scrubby Scrub, which you scrub soap off the girls; Spanking X, which is spanking two girls at a time; Slimeshot, which you spray your goo, er slime on the girls (that’s not suggestive…); and Shocking bondage, in which you shock the girls when they are all tied up. As their Motivation level goes up, you unlock more attacks, magic or stat bonuses for that character. You will have two types of skills, S Skills and M skills. They can affect your character when you coach them in battle, enabling them to deal more damage (S) or reduce damage take (M).

Motivation makes use of the Vita’s touch controls.

Scrub their sins away. This is the least creepy of the MotivationsAs you progress in the motivation, you can unlock new abilities

The gameplay is like a typical JRPG. There will be a lot of grinding to get up levels and to unlock abilities. You can go up to 30 second without having a random encounter and when you start out with only one girl fighting, some enemies will be tough. Getting enough CM points to motivate the girls will be your priority as your attacks will improve. All characters get XP after battles so don’t worry if you tend to stick with your favourite four.

You get some XP. You get some XP. Everyone gets some XP!!!

Graphic-wise, it looks the same as the first game. The dungeons change a bit from level to level but it can become a bit repetitive. The monsters still look like they did in the first game, with some of them not resembling the creature the game says they are. But, hey, you’re in Hell, scrubbing and spanking girls to redeem them. Nothing has to make sense.

The art was redrawn to be less explicit

Now, it has to be obvious that his game must have been somewhat censored to be brought out west. Japan has some different sensibilities that may not fly in the west. So the girls have been aged up (or, more accurately, all traces of age have been removed and it is assumed that they are old enough to drink in Alberta at the very least.). Some changes NIS admitted were redrawn art for the motivation mini-games, removing elements that might have been considered explicit, removing the yelps and moans from the mini-games ,and even changing the name of the Motivation system (originally it was called Punishment.) Compared to the pink mist obscuring the Motivation mini-game in Criminal Girls: Invite Only, this is acceptable.

Mizuki looks like a kid so Tsukasa treats her like one.…That ain’t helping to change anyone’s mind.

Overall, this is a okay game for those who do not mind the tediousness of a grindy JRPG. You definitely have to be in the mood for it if you want to get far in this game. Looking back, I think I judged the first one a bit harshly, mostly because of the annoying censorship and the battle mechanics. But I seethe strategy in the system now and the censorship is not as prominent in this game,. But it is not a overly pretty game, save for the characters themselves. It is a long, dark bland game, but then again, it is set in Hell.

Hell is other people.

Criminal Girls 2: Party Favours is available through online retailers, such as Video Games Plus and Rice Digital on online on the PlayStation Store. There was a Collector’s Edition available as well as a standard copy. Prices may vary by your country .

Gal*Gun: Double Peace is a Japanese first-person on-rails shooter developed by Inti Creates and published in the West by PQube. It is a sequel to the original Gal*Gun game published in 2011. The game is available for both the PS Vita and the PS4 video game systems This review is for both versions.

Note: This Review is not a paid review and only is my opinion. All screenshots were taken with either the PS Vita or PS4.

Ekoro, the angel with great aim but poor trigger control.

Gal*Gun: Double Peace puts you in the role of Houdai Kudoki, an ordinary, rather unremarkable student at the Academy (which I’m sure is some college or something…). When Ekoro, a student angel assigned to bring love to one of the students, accidentally hits Houdai with 32 love arrows, he finds himself the target of affection of all the girls. Ekoro explains that, because of her mistake, he has until the end of the day to find his one true love or be alone forever.

The demon-hunting sisters , Shinobu (l) and Maya (r)

Houdai’s best chance for love resides in two sister he had known since childhood, Shinobu and Maya. But they are both demon hunters, unaffected by the effects of the love arrows and are both emotionally aloof when around Houdai. They are also busy trying to hunt down a novice demon, Kurona, who is causing more mischief. Houdai has until dusk to get through to one of the sisters to show their true feelings and find true love. He only have to avoid love-mad students and teachers, and any other trouble Kurona unleashes.

Girls are rushing to express their love, sometimes violently.Let them get too close, they will hit you, kiss you, or express their love which drains your strength (Ribbon DLC costume shown)

In order to fend off the love-sick mobs of girls, you have to shoot the girls with pheromone shots from your… well, I don’t know where they come from. Do you use a finger gun? Shoot them with a sexy look (Blue Steel!) or do you point at them with an…appendage or some sort? Well, anyways, you shoot them with your love gun (heh) until they collapse in euphoria. That’s what the game tells you but it just another way of saying that it’s an orgasm gun.

In Doki Doki Mode, shoot the girls in certain areas to raise their euphoria until they can’t take it anymore.Get their euphoria high enough and they will give you the “double peace” like this teacher.

One you have satiated enough ladies with your pheromone shots, you build up enough energy to go into Doki Doki Mode. This stuns all the girls on-screen and you can select up to three girls for a mini-game in which you can shoot pheromones at specific parts of their body until the org-… achieve euphoric bliss. If you do this in time to at least one girl, when the time ends, her euphoria will explode knocking out all of the girls on-screen.

Some girls are under demonic influence. Zoom in and shoot the mini-demon first

Additionally some of the girls are under the demon’s influence and want to abuse poor Koudai. These girls are stronger and more resistance to the pheromone shot. You have to zoom in and find the mini-demon that is controlling the girl. Take out the demon and then you can euphoria the hell out of her.

Occasionally there are mini-games, like try to get Shinbou unstuck from a window,

Of course, throughout the game you have to win over one of the sisters. Both love you, but each has a reason to deny that love and not get involved with anyone. You have to say the right things to her to raise her affection rate. Say or do the wrong thing and it could lower it. You can also improve it by helping them out in a mini game. These mini-games usually involve you shooting demon bugs off their bodies and help them out in some way. You could be helping Maya get herself unstuck from a demon trap or bide your time looking for a way to free Shinobu from the demon’s control while she…steps on your junk while in her underwear. Oh Japan…

You have to scan all over her body for those mini-demons. All. Over.

She isn’t putting out a cigarette with her foot

The game adds replay value by having multiple paths and multiple girls to woo. At first only Maya and Shinobu are available, but as you beat the game multiple times, options to woo them both at the same time opens up. You can aso take a path to win over the angel, Ekoro, the demon, Kurona, or have them both. You can also chose another path to find a random girl, if you unlock it. There are multiple ending for each choice, too.

Replay levels in time attack mode

Other modes are a time attack mode for all the levels you played and a speed one for each of the different paths that you beat. There is alos a dressing room, where you can change the attire of any of the girls in the game with outfits you have unlocked or purchased through the DLC. There is also a collection mode where you can see so stats in the game, what endings you have unlocked and view art from the game.

Like this one.

Another option in Collection mode is the Student Roster. Here you can see the names of all the students and teachers that you encounter. As you play the game, you unlock more girls and you can find student hand books to tell you more about them. You can also zoom in on them in the game to unlock information like their height, measurements (B-W-H) and weak spots which is handy in Doki Doki mode. Unlock enough and you can even get an option to ‘fantasize’ about them, in which you view their 3d model, pose them and change the background. You can even poke them on the Vita’s touch screen, if that is your thing.

If you know enough about them, you can “fantasize about your fellow students or the teachers in the Student Roster

The versions of this game for the PS Vita and the PS4 are exactly the same, but each has their drawbacks. The Vita version is slow to load, taking over a minute until the game actually starts up. The PS4 version loads much quicker, but there are parts in the game in which the screenshot and video recording is disabled, such as when Shinobu is humiliating you while in her underwear or during the end scenes. You can still screenshot in the PS Vita during those spots. While both games have a good translation overall, there are no subtitles during the mini-games and, unless you speak Japanese, you don’t know what they are saying, though the games does tell you what to do.

Screen shot from the PS VitaVideo capture and screenshot are blocked in Fantasy mode but you can still the pictures on the PS Vita.

The graphic are good, if not spectacular. It has a solid anime feel to the art design and you could be excused for not knowing it was make with the Unreal Engine middleware. The graphics are bight and crisp and I did not see any glitches or slowdowns in either version. The graphics are a bit better on the PS4, however, but that is how is should be.

Shinobu in the torn Uniform DLC

This game features a cross save functionality. You can upload your PS4 save and download it to you Vita and vice versa. All of the DLC are cross buy as well, meaning you get it for both versions. Currently the DLC is mostly costume for the girls. You can buy them individually or in sets of four. There are two sets available for purchase with one costume, the ripped uniform being only one not included. There are also DLC for reducing the girls’ breast size (Angel’s Cutting Board) or increase it (Demon’s Meat Buns.) Then there is the Pheromone Z DLC, which allows you to see through clothing (which you can already do, if you keep your reticule on the girl long enough.) This one cost $90!

Shinobu confronts Kurona

Let me rant here. This is the worst case of nickel and diming people ever and that’s including horse armour and anything EA has ever done. Now, there is no nudity in this game. You can already see through their clothing if you zoom in and look at them long enough and you see their underwear. If they are in swimwear or the ribbon DLC, there are hearts covering where the nipples would be and they still have panties on. This DLC just makes it that the clothes disappear when you look at the girls through the site. The developer, PQube, said that it was meant to be a joke and nobody should buy it. So, why bother selling it? Seems like a bad joke for a slightly lewd game. You can get more value in a Season Pass for another game like Fallout 4 or Dead or Alive 5 Last Round.

This should be enough for anybody.

Overall, this is a okay game. Gal*Gun: Double Peace is bit of an ecchi (sexy or dirty) game with the ability to see through clothing, some of the dialogue choices if you want to play it at a creep and the questionable age of some of the girls, offset by the fact they are only anime characters and hey, Japan. But, at it’s core, it is about childhood friends admitting their feeling have grown into love, if you play it that way. The fact it is a on-rails shooter where you are pretty much along for the ride with the occasional choice turn giving you the illusion of choice takes away from it a bit. But it is a fun ride and the multiple paths and collectables add replay value.

What’s an ecchi Japanese game without Tentacle Monsters? Incomplete, that’s what.

Gal*Gun: Double Peace is only available in physical release through online shops or as a download on the PlayStation Network. Check online for pricing.

3/5

The girls can attack from afar with declarations of love…Or up close with kiss attacks.

Since the first game came out in 1996, the Dead or Alive series had been about fan service. The original game is known as much for Kasumi’s ample polygons and high kicks as it is for its throwing mechanics and fast 3D game play. This fact was not lost on the developer as in the next two installments, more female characters were added with sexy costumes. In 2003, Team Ninja decided to base a game around the girls and have an excuse to show them in sexy swimwear. That’s when Dead or Alive Xtreme Beach Volleyball for the original XBox came out. Not only were you able to play beach volleyball with the girls and dress them into bikinis, you could also watch them frolicking in the sand or relaxing by the pool. Another one came out, called Dead or Alive Xtreme 2 (XBox 360), which added more bikinis, more games (like pool hopping and beach flags) and more girls. Now, after a remake of the second game on the PSP (Dead or Alive Paradise), New Zach Island has reopened and we have new game in the series.

You might want to sit down for this.

Dead or Alive Xtreme 3 (DOAX3) is a beach volleyball/beach game/ girl watching simulator developed by Team Ninja and published in Asia and Japan by Koei Tecmo. There are two version of the game: DOAX3:Fortune, for the PlayStation 4, and DOAX3: Venus, for the PlayStation Vita. This review is for the PS Vita version. This game is NOT scheduled to come out in North America/Europe at this time. The copy reviewed is for the Asia region (Hong Kong, Singapore, Taiwan) and was part of the Collector’s Edition. This version is multi lingual and the text will be in English if your Vita is set to that language. The game is PlayStation TV compatible and works on North American systems.

(Note: This Review is my opinion only. I have no affiliation with Koei Tecmo, Play Asia or Sony. All pictures were taken by me with my camera, or through the game.)

The girls play beach volley ball

The plot is pretty much the same as the last DOAX games: Zack has reopened his resort on New Zack Island and has left you (the player) in charge of the island. He has invited 9 of the girls from the latest Dead or Alive game (DOA5:LR) to enjoy a 14 day vacation and partake in the various activities. There are two modes to play: Girl Mode or Owner Mode. In Girl mode , the player, as the girl he chose at the start, can partner up with one another to play 2 on 2 beach volleyball games. The player will have to try to increase their relationship with her partner though winning volleyball games and giving them presents that they like, ranging from swimsuits, food, drinks or items. If the relationship is low enough, the girls’ partner will leave, and the player will have to find another partner. Volleyball is the place when the player can earn the most currency to buy new items. but other activities pay out as well. At night, you can play casino games like blackjack, poker and roulette.

Increase your funds through gambling at the casinoThe shops contain swim suits that are specifically for your girl, though some might over lap with the other’s preference. Only Honoka would dig this cow pattern.

In Owner Mode, the player steps back as the owner, still choosing what event to do but not playing as the girl. You can watch them do the various activities, even taking pictures of the events. You also have to try to improve your relationship with your chosen girl through giving them gifts that they like. If you give them a swimsuit that they like they will even change into it on the spot. You have to keep your eyes closed. If you peek (press the circle button) they will get upset (obviously) and it will negatively affect the relationship. You can also give gifts to the other girls and your relationship level carries over to subsequent play throughs. You can switch between the modes at any time when not in an activity.

Rock Climbing is a new activity

There are missions, goals from either Zack (for the Owner) or from the girl to achieve. It might range from buying a girl a swim suit to winning a hand of poker with two pairs. When you complete the missions you get a reward of Zack dollars for the Owner. Missions given by the girl can increase her satisfaction level and you want that as high as possible by the end of the vacation. Any Zack dollars earned in Owner Mode is kept by the owner and the girl and owner have separate funds. If the mission is too had, or you do not have enough funds to do it, you can always cancel it.

Momoji is also here

The game features only 9 of the female fighters from Dead or Alive 5: Last Round: Kasumi, Helena, Ayane, Hitomi, Kokoro, Momoji, Nyotengu, Honoka and Marie Rose. Now the choice of which girls were in this game was apparently voted on through download of themes of the girls for the PS4 and Vita. in Japan. Unfortunately, my favourite girl, Mila, didn’t make the cut, but all time favourites Kasumi and Ayane did. It was a bit surprising that new comers like Honoka and Nyotengu won out over old favorites like Lei Fang and Tina, but it is not surprising and a little sad that little Marie Rose got the most votes. But it is all okay, because canonically, all the girls are over 18 in the game (Marie Rose included). It even says their age in the selection menu, so ogle who you want to. The oldest is Nyotengu, who is 1,018 years old (and doesn’t look a day over 25.)

Marie Rose: Upgraded from Jail Bait to Barely Legal

The graphic are good on the PS Vita. The game use a modified version of the graphic engine used in the PS4/XBOne versions of Dead or Alive 5: Last Round (Soft Engine 2.0). Called the Soft Engine light, it helps to render realistic skin tones and effects like clothing wetness. It also helps advance the breast physics, giving them a more realistic, albeit slightly exaggerated bounce and the girls move. It also boast an advanced “booty physics,” meaning their butts are getting as much attention as their breasts. Though not as detailed as the PS4 version, the graphics run smoothly with the latest update with no slow down of glitches.

Behold the advanced Booty Physics!

The controls have not changed much from the previous versions. the volley ball and other mini-games control like they did in the PSP version with touch controls used to poke and prod the girls in gravure mode. IT not as creepy as in Senran Kagura Estival Versus, though. The second thumb stick allows you to manipulate the camera and in volleyball, move your partner around to better receive the ball. Note that, since this is an Asian version (and it is the same in the Japanese one),in the controls in the menu, Circle is used to select and X is used to cancel, which is the opposite of most Western release games. People who import this game should be aware of this.

Everything on the box is still mostly in Japanese, even the Asian edition. The game does include English menus and subtitles

Both the PS4 and PS Vita versions come in either a stand edition of a Collector’s edition. The collector’s edition for each version comes with different items. The PS Vita version, the Venus Edition comes with the game on a Vita card, of course. It also has a set of playing cards featuring images of Honoka on Diamonds, Kasumi on Hearts, Kokoro on Clubs and Nyotengu on Spades, with the Jokers being Zack. It also comes with a hard cover art book, Venus edition, featuring images of all 9 girls from the game (the text is in Japanese, though). There is also a Honkoa mouse pad, the type on which you rest your wrists in her ample bosom. There is also two download codes for DLC. The first is a bonus for early buyers of the game, featuring (for the PS Vita) and angel-themed swim suit for Honoka. The second is the Extreme Sexy Costume V set, featuring a new swim suit for all 9 grils that resemble leaves, vines and flowers. Now the PS4 version has different DLC (Costume set F and a Devil swim suit for Marie Rose) as well as a Marie Rose mouse pad, a different playing card set, different art book and, of course, the game for PS4. Note that the DLC codes will only work in a PlayStation Network Account for the Asia region (Hong Kong, Singapore and Taiwan), but entitles you to be able to download it for both PS4 and PS Vita.

The swag you get with the Venus Collectors editionThe PS Vita DOAX3 Venus Collector’s edition comes with this angel swim suit for HonokaThe Sexy Costume V Set DLC consists of these leafy bikinis for the girlsThere is some variation in each of the girls’ V costumes

Now, because Koei Tecmo believes that it would not be received well in the West, due to recent events like Gamer Gate and immature boys posting derogatory things at women who are in the industry and ones that play video games, it is not receiving a Western release. I do not think that preventing this game from releasing in the west would change a damn thing, especially because online store like Play Asia has had record orders from people importing this game. Now, I have said it in the last two posts: I do not agree with censorship because a game has partial nudity (i.e. in bathing suits) and fan service. The only this that will change attitudes about sex and nudity is if we stop demonizing it. Look, I like Senran Kagura, but why is a game that allows you to fight and strip opponents (with other females) release out here when what is a pretty much a beach vacation simulator is deemed too racy? Why is DOA5:LR, which has scantily clad females (with more racy DLC costumes coming monthly) punching and kicking other fighters of both sex allowed when a game with some of the same girls playing sports and buying each other bathing suits is not? Our priorities are weird, if you think about it. Gun and violence are okay, but show a bit of skin and everyone freaks out. Might as well release DLC that has them all in burkhas.

And miss out on this?

Dead or Alive Xtreme 3 will not win any awards. It is pretty much the same game form 2003 with a altered cast , and better graphics and some new modes. But it is not a terrible game nor is it a morally reprehensible game. Sure, it has the women of DOA in some racy swim wear, but you’d see that at a resort in real life. They are not fighting, or plotting to kill each other. The worse this they can to is reject your offer to team up. It is not deep, but it is fun to see the ladies of DOA have some down time and not fight some evil plot to created bio-engineered ninja to sell as a weapon. Just enjoy the virtual scenery and get some good picture of the girls while you are at it.

Pool Hopping plays like it did in DOA Paradise

Dead Or Alive Xtreme 3 for the PS Vita can be bought online through Play Asia. Make sure you get the Asian copy, not the Japanese one if you want it in English. Check their site for pricing and availability.

3.5/5

I can see all the hard work that went into “booty physics.”Yup, high quality.